RUN!

Xaren remembered that elven mage with the magic tome—the same tome that had helped him learn the basic spells he knew today.

Unfortunately, his aptitude for magic in his past life was abysmal, so he hadn't bothered to read past the beginner-level spells. Instead, the book had been left to gather dust in his suitcase.

'I wish I'd read more of it. Maybe there was some gravity magic inside or something useful...'

Lost in his thoughts, he almost missed the fact that the others were staring at him with curious expressions.

Finally turning to them, he raised a brow and Ilya broke the silence with a question, her tone carrying a tinge of disbelief.

"Xaren, you can read?"

Caught off guard by the simplicity of the question, Xaren blinked in surprise.

"Of course, I can read. What kind of question is tha—oh!"

Midway through his response, realization struck him like a bolt of lightning. He was supposed to be a newbie demon, fresh out of the newborn zone just days ago.

And here he was, casually admitting to reading a book—a magic book, no less!

'I slipped up. Either they'll think I'm suspicious, or they'll think I'm some kind of prodigy. Better steer this in a direction I can control.'

Making that decision in an instant, Xaren heaved an exaggerated sigh and feigned reluctance. He glanced at them as though debating whether or not to speak. After a moment, he sighed again and muttered.

"…I have a skill…"

That was all he said, but it was enough. The others immediately nodded in understanding, their curiosity satisfied.

Just as he'd hoped, their thoughts turned toward the idea of him possessing some rare skill that allowed him to read.

'Well, I do have such a skill so it wasn't a lie…'

With the slip-up neatly handled, Kravok shifted his attention back to the summoning magic. His eyes lit up as realization dawned.

"You want them to bring more elves here so we can kill more elves and get more EXP, right?"

Xaren turned to him, his dark red eyes narrowing in a mock-serious expression.

"Seems like this guy's the real smartass."

Kravok puffed out his chest, a proud grin spreading across his face. His moment of glory was cut short when Carack smacked him on the back of his head, rolling his eyes.

"You finally got something right for once, and now you think you're the smartest person in the world."

Just as their banter picked up, Bjorn, standing silently to the side, suddenly spoke in his usual broken cadence.

"More elves, more EXP. More EXP, more levels. More levels, low rank is closer."

He pieced everything together in his own way and then nodded to show his agreement with the plan to let the elves finish their summoning.

Ilya, also eager to get to Level 100 as soon as possible, crossed her arms, her gaze scanning the chaotic battlefield below.

"Then shouldn't we stop the other demons from killing the giants protecting the elves?"

Xaren shrugged nonchalantly, gesturing toward the glowing summoning circle as he responded.

"Oh, that's not really a problem. The spell's almost done."

He pointed at the circle, directing their attention to it's the rings around it.

"From up here, we can get a clear view. Look at the ring of light—it's nearly completed a full revolution.

No matter how many demons are down there, they won't be able to break through the giants in time to stop it. In other words, we should be seeing a bunch of new arrivals pretty soon."

Carack rubbed his hands together, a grin spreading across his face.

"Wow, I wonder how many elves? Or maybe giants?"

"Most likely giants alone. They're using the blood of giants as the summoning catalyst for the spell. So, yeah, probably just giants."

Xaren responded, but when he mentioned the summoning catalyst phrase, Kravok tilted his head, confusion evident on his face.

"Summoning Catalyst?"

Carack seized the opportunity to make fun of Kravok, grinning mischievously as he shouted.

"You're using too many big words, Xaren. Dumb it down for this idiot!"

Kravok smacked Carack on the back of the head with a heavy hand, muttering something unintelligible as Carack laughed. Xaren chuckled as well before offering a simplified explanation.

"Basically, since the spell was cast using giants' blood, what's going to come out of there are giants."

Kravok scratched his head, counting on his fingers before he confidently declared.

"They should bring at least twenty-five giants at level 90—five for each of us."

Hearing that, Xaren nearly fell over in shock. His head snapped in Kravok's direction, eyes wide in disbelief.

"What the hell do you mean five giants at level 90?! You trying to kill me?!"

 Kravok blinked, momentarily confused, before realization dawned on him.

"Oh, that's right. Your strange weight magic is the reason why you can rack up as many kills as us.

Come to think of it... what level are you, Xaren?"

Xaren opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, the magic power from the summoning circle surged again and he turned his gaze there.

"Seems the spell has completed."

Seeing the pillar of light shooting into the sky, they all stood at the ready, filled with anticipation. Weapons drawn and glowing with imbued magic, each prepared for the onslaught they assumed was coming.

"Twenty-five giants. Twenty-five giants. Twenty-five giants."

Kravok muttered to himself like a mantra, gripping his Warhammer tightly while Carack just laughed.

Xaren, though silent, shared their anticipation. His thoughts churned with possibilities.

How many enemies would emerge? Would it truly be a swarm of giants? Or was he wrong and it would be a mix of giants and elves?

But as the spell's energy began to coalesce and the light dimmed to reveal the fruits of its casting, Xaren's eyes widened abruptly.

From within the pillar of light stepped a single figure.

One giant.

20 metres tall, he was. But he was still just One giant.

For perspective, it would take at least fifteen Xarens stacked atop one another to match his height.

"What…? Just one?"

Kravok muttered, his voice laden with confusion. Ilya, Carack, Bjorn, and even the demons on the ground near the city centre were stunned into silence.

The sheer amount of magic that had been poured into the summoning suggested an entire army, yet only a solitary giant appeared.

Even more so, this giant had no magic power and no weapons.

"Is it defective?"

Carack mused aloud, frowning as he observed the giant's lack of weapons.

Even though giants were known for their comparatively weaker magic, they always had enough to amplify their ridiculous strengths even further.

But this one was void of any magic power as far as they could tell.

Xaren, however, felt something else entirely. His heart thudded in his chest as his eyes locked onto the giant, unmoving.

"Aura…"

His whisper was barely audible over the wind, but Ilya, standing closest to him, caught it and turned her head.

"Aura? What's that supposed to mean?"

Her words seemed to fall on deaf ears as Xaren continued to stare, his body tense.

Below, the demons finally snapped out of their stupor. With roars and battle cries, they charged toward the lone giant, seeing it as an easy target.

"No… no, no, no!"

Xaren's breath quickened, and his heart sank. And then he screamed.

"NOOO!! DON'T!! RUN AWAY!!!!"

His desperate cry echoed across the rooftop, loud enough that even his companions flinched.

But the demons below paid him no heed.

Why should they? The giant was without magic, without weapons. To them, it was nothing more than an oversized, defenceless slab of meat.

That was the consensus of around 80% of the demons who saw the giant appear.

But this was a grave misassumption.

None of them had reincarnated like Xaren did. None of them had knowledge from a previous life.

They were still young and hadn't become able to properly differentiate Existence Realms.

And that was why none of them realised what Xaren had realised when he stared at the towering figure.

The unnamed giant stopped in his tracks, seemingly drawn by Xaren's frantic scream. His massive head turned, and his gaze locked onto Xaren.

For a moment, it felt as though the world itself had fallen silent.

Then, the giant grinned.

Slowly, he raised his colossal fist high into the air.

"No! RUN! GET OUT OF THERE!!"

Xaren's voice cracked as he screamed again, but his warnings were too late.

The giant brought his fist down, and the ground beneath its knuckles cracked with a sound like the sky itself splitting.

An unimaginable shockwave erupted outward, carrying with it a force that seemed to shake the very earth.

The city centre instantly turned into a bloodbath.

The collision unleashed a violent explosion of energy, the impact sending demons and other smaller giants alike flying as though they were nothing more than rag dolls.

The force ripped through the air in powerful waves, flattening buildings in its path. Stone and wood shattered, fragments scattering like deadly shrapnel. Entire structures crumbled, crashing down on those unfortunate enough to be beneath them.

Dozens of demons screamed as they were crushed under the debris, their bodies squashed in an instant.

Even those with rather strong magic power and demonic energy were helpless against the overwhelming blast. Their magic and demonic energy barriers shattered like glass and their bodies hurled through the air as if gravity itself had abandoned them.

In the centre of the crater that was now the city centre, the giant stood unmoving as he raised his hand once more.

On the rooftop of the bell tower building, Xaren's companions could only stare in disbelief.

"What in the Abyss…?"

Ilya whispered, her voice barely audible over the still-raging wind.

"That kind of power… without any magic?"

Carack was visibly sweating, his fingers clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white. Beside him, Kravok's arms trembled, the Warhammer in his hands feeling heavier than ever before.

This tense silence was broken through by Xaren's loud voice.

"It's Aura! That giant is using Aura!"

Ilya, her composure cracking, shouted back, asking the question all of them desperately wanted an answer to.

"What the hell is Aura?!"

But Xaren wasn't in a state to give a proper explanation. His gaze remained fixed on the giant, his mind racing.

In a strained voice, he spat out the words he knew they'd understand.

"That thing's a Master Realm Existence! Above Level 100! Low-Rank Giant!"